April 5, 2017 Board Meeting

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

RANDONNEURS USA, INC.

Held APRIL 5, 2017

A regular meeting of the RUSA Board of Directors was convened by telephone conference and called to order at 2002 EDT by the President.

The following Directors were in attendance:

  • John Lee Ellis
  • Nigel Greene
  • Susan Otcenas
  • Paul Rozelle
  • Lois Springsteen
  • Dave Thompson

Debra Banks was absent. No others were in attendance.

The minutes from the regular meeting of March 1, 2017 were approved.

A discussion had been held by email concerning the practice of charging RBAs $5 for each non-RUSA member participating in an event other than populaires, the purpose being to offset insurance costs. Following discussion, a motion was made to discontinue the practice of charging RBAs for nonmember riders, further discussion was had, a vote was taken, and the motion passed. A motion was made at the meeting to confirm the email vote and that motion passed.

Discussion was held about whether, in the future, it would be possible to take binding votes by email without the necessity of confirming them at the next Board meeting. It was thought that this issue had been encountered in the past.

ACTION ITEM: The Secretary would investigate the history of this issue and its feasibility and report back.

A report was received from the Treasurer on the financial position, the consolidation of bank accounts and credit cards, tracking membership data, the submission of the updated Rhode Island filing, and the role of the Vice President in reviewing reports from the Treasurer. At the end of March 2017, there were 2895 RUSA members.

Discussion was held about insurance costs and the possibility of exploring other competitive insurance options.

ACTION ITEM: The Insurance Chair would continue to investigate this issue and would report back.

The jersey redesign was then discussed and reviewed, including the design, the apparel offerings, color, fabric, pricing, rollout timing, and publicity for the new jersey.

A report was received from Greene and the President concerning the initiative to amend the RUSA rules to permit electronic proof of passage for permanents. The proposal had been discussed with the Permanents Coordinator and in the Rules Committee. A report was received and further discussion held about potential issues with the change, including failure of the electronic method, riders on a single permanent employing different forms of electronic proof, that the burden of proof always falls on the rider, and that any change would be applicable only to permanents, and not events.

ACTION ITEM: Greene, the President, and the Rules Committee would proceed with examining feasibility and ultimately present the Board with options for language for a rule change if the Board votes to approve such a change.

Discussion was held concerning an individual membership issue.

Discussion was then held about the 2018 Grand Randonnée schedule for 2018, including both new events and events that had been held in the past and were returning for another edition in 2018.

ACTION ITEM: A spreadsheet would be created reflecting the potentially forthcoming and historical 1200Ks and circulated to the RBAs for planning and coordination purposes among them.

Discussion was held concerning RUSA’s upcoming 20th Anniversary on August 18, 2018, and different ways to commemorate this milestone. Further discussion would be held.

The meeting was adjourned at 2139 EDT.

Next meeting: May 3, 2017, at 2000 EDT.